Saturday, November 30, 2013

Mezlan is a high-quality men's shoe store that recently opened in Valley Fair. However, they have done something I have never seen any other local store do, and that is produce a great documentary about San Jose's history. The video below is only about 8 minutes long, and is well worth your time! It's a fantastic tribute to San Jose's 236th Birthday.

Clearly this is a store that is looking to become a strong part of the community and is well-worth checking out on those merits alone (I do have the say their shoes look pretty nice as well). For more information on Mezlan, check out their website over here. And again, please watch the video below. This is a great summery of our City's history.

Movoto looked at total homes for sale per capita, median days on market, crime rates, school quality, and unemployment rate to find the best home markets for sellers across 100 US Cities. San Jose came in 3rd place, while our nemesis came in second and Fremont surprisingly came in 1st. For more info just use the source links or scroll down.

1. Fremont, CA

Source: Flickr user Don Debold

This modestly sized city of 216,916 located on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay is home to the highest-earning home buyers in our top 10; they made a median household income of $98,513 a year. At the same time, sellers can anticipate a median listing price of $640,000, which is the third highest of all the cities we surveyed after San Francisco and Irvine.

Fremont is tied with Oakland, CA when it comes to fewest median days on market at 25 days. The city has the second-highest ratio of homes for sale to residents after San Francisco at one for every 689 residents.

2. San Francisco, CA

Source: Wikipedia user Kurykh

To the northwest of Fremont sits San Francisco, the City by the Bay. This hilly metropolis has the highest median list price of any city in our top 100—let alone the top 10—at $799,000. Its residents earn a median household income of $72,947 and the unemployment rate is 5.4 percent.

The median days on market in San Francisco is twice that of Fremont at 50 days. There is one home for sale for every 869 people who call the city home, making it the most competitive housing market out of our top 10.

3. San Jose, CA

Source: Wikipedia user Michael

One of the Bay Area’s three major metros, San Jose came in fourth in terms of median listing price and days on market at $609,000 and 43 days, respectively. Its residents make a median household income of $80,764 and the unemployment rate is 7.2 percent; the second-highest in the top 10 after Chula Vista.

San Jose is fourth out of the top 10 in terms of available home to resident ratio with one for sale for every 608 people.

4. Honolulu, HI

Source: Wikipedia user ErgoSum88

The Hawaiian capital came in fourth overall in terms of unemployment at 4.2 percent, just slightly more than Seattle’s 4 percent rate. Its median list price is seventh overall at $528,000 and the residents earn a median household image of $93,539 annually.

Honolulu has one home for sale for every 292 residents and a median days on market of 64 days.

5. San Diego, CA

Source: Flickr user Leandro Neumann Ciuffo

San Diego is the largest city in our top 10 at 1.3 million residents, which contributes to its low ratio of 1 home for sale for every 348 people. The median list price in San Diego is $469,000 which makes it ninth overall for that criterion.

Unemployment in San Diego is at 7 percent, placing it 45th out of 100 in terms of the cities we surveyed.

6. Plano, TX

Source: City of Plano, TX

As it turns out, one of our best suburbs in America is also a top spot for home sellers. Plano has one home for sale for every 289 residents and a median days on market of 60. The median listing price there is 275,000—a far cry from California prices, but good for Texas.

The residents of Plano make a median household income of $82,901 annually, placing it 27th for that criterion, and the unemployment rate is 6.4 percent.

7. Chula Vista, CA

Source: Flickr user Mark Sebastian

We head back to California and the San Diego area for seventh place Chula Vista. The median list price there is about $100,000 less than in San Diego proper at $370,000 and at one home on the market for every 378 residents, they’re just about even in that regard. Median days on market is 52, which is just one day longer than San Diego.

The unemployment rate is higher at 7.8 percent but the median household income is considerably lower at $65,526.

8. Seattle, WA

Source: Wikipedia user Daniel Schwen

Still on the West Coast, but considerably less sunny, Seattle immediately stands out by having the lowest unemployment rate of any city we surveyed at 4 percent. The median household income there, however, is the lowest in our top 10 at $61,856.

As for the rest of the criteria, it performed admirably. Its median list price is $425,000 and days on market are 45. There’s one home for sale for every 227 residents of the city.

9. Chandler, AZ

Source: Flickr user Dean Ouellette

As the first of two Arizona cities that round out our top 10, Chandler is superior in terms of median list price—at $284,900, it’s $14,800 better than No. 10. It’s $71,343 median household income is less, however, and its one home for sale for every 198 residents makes it not quite as competitive a market.

The median days on market in Chandler is 50 and the unemployment rate is 6.9 percent.

10. Gilbert, AZ

Source: Wikipedia user Tony the Marine

Like we said, Chandler has Gilbert beat for median list price; $284,900 versus $270,100, respectively. Gilbert’s residents make more, though, at $80,090 median household income, and there are fewer homes for sale per resident—one for every 158.

In terms of median days on market and unemployment rate, Gilbert is tied with Chandler at 50 and 6.9 percent, respectively.

Friday, November 29, 2013

Edgewater is an internet communications company with various solutions and services. They have been leasing 24,000 SQFT of space at 2895 Northwestern Parkway in Santa Clara for the last five years. The company has decided to upgrade their headquarters to 38,000 SQFT in South San Jose at Hellyer Oaks Technology Park. Low rents and a reverse commute seem to be attracting a little bit more attention to the area (Barracuda Networks made a big move here as well), but office vacancy in South San Jose is still hovering around 20%.

Downtown San Jose's largest event--attracting half a million visitors--officially launches today with a Tree Lighting Ceremony at 6pm! For a list of events and more information, you can check out their website over here. Below is a handy map of key attractions inside of the park itself. There will also be carnival rides and vendor booths flanking both sides of the park.

Here is a little Thanksgiving treat for San Joseans. We have some exciting announcements related to San Jose's new Little Italy district. All but details are below but the quick summary is:

1.) Bel Bacio Imported Italian Coffee is officially open for business and their Grand opening will be this Sunday from 10am-12pm! (can't wait to check this out)
2.) The first home restored by SV Home is already being shown off and the cast from HGTV's Flip it to win it was onsite yesterday.
3.) Architectural and landscaping designs are being finalized for the Little Italy Cultural Center and Museum (yay!)
4.) The Little Italy Arch is ready to start construction. They are just waiting for the work permit.

Thanks Josh Melander for sending this in!

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Bel Bacio Italian Café Now Open!!

Today Monday November 25th is the first day of business for Bel Bacio - Italian Cafe﻿. Please stop by this week to try their authentic espresso from Barbera in Messina Sicily. The Grand Opening will be Sunday December 1st from 10am -12pm.

First Home restored by SV HOME reveal and Open House!!

Yes, It has been only two months and the first home purchased by SV HOME has been restored and the reveal with SV HOME and the TV crew from HGTV and the cast from Flip it to win it will be this Wednesday November 27th from 3pm -5pm. SV Home will be paying for catered Food from Paesano Ristorante and would love all of you to attend. We hope you can see all the progress that has been made in Little Italy.

~ We also are looking for a few people to be involved in a live casting for the TV show to be on camera looking at the home

Status of Little Italy Cultural center and Museum

We are finalizing architectural and landscaping designs for the Cultural center and Museum. Thus far we have the following…….

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

I was really hoping that this would happen. In fact, I even emailed the person scouting for locations of the US Patent Office to suggest he look at Downtown San Jose. The US Patent and Trademark Office is officially making San Jose's City Hall their official home!

They will be taking 40,000 SQFT across two locations, the 14th floor and the second floor of the wing. That should be enough for 18 patent judges' offices, 60 patent examiners, public conference space, collaboration space, and support staff.

To attract the patent office Downtown, the city gave them a sweet deal. Two years of free rent, Operational Expenses for the next four years, and market-rate rent for the next six years. However, since this space was not being utilized, the opportunity cost of making this deal is close to nothing and the upside is huge.

Everyone in the West Coast that wants to file a patent would be coming to Downtown San Jose to do so. This also puts high demand on the immediate area for services to cater towards patent-filers, such as legal services, research firms, etc. Large companies start may even start considering Downtown as a location for their Intellectual Property teams. It definitely won't hurt our vacancy rates, that's for sure. There are not many office submarkets that can brag about having a US Patent Office within walking distance.

This is a well deserved win for the top patent-filing region in the country, if not the world!

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

The Harvest Festival is coming back to San Jose this weekend at the newly remodeled San Jose Convention Center! I had the opportunity to check this out last year and it completely exceeded my expectations. There are so many vendors here, it will blow your mind. This year's event will feature over 24,000 different items--all handmade in the US--including original art, clothing, jewelry, gourmet food, and photography. If you are planning on doing Christmas shopping this weekend, these are gifts with a lot more character than what you would typically find in the mall. Live music and a Kid's area will also be in the mix.

Fore more information you can read the press release below or visit their website over here.

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Black Friday, the Handmade Way

San Jose Harvest Festival Offers Over 24,000 Handmade Arts and Crafts Right in Time for the Holidays

(San Jose, Calif., October 18, 2013)--- This Black Friday, many people are looking for great deals and unique gifts for their friends and family without the stress and hassle of visiting a crowded mall. Shoppers will find all that and more at the San Jose Harvest Festival, happening November 29 - December 1 at the San Jose Convention Center.

The San Jose Harvest Festival is the largest indoor arts and craft shows on the West Coast and was recently rated among the top 200 craft shows in the country. The show offers over 24,000 handmade arts and crafts, including jewelry, original art, clothing, specialty foods, holiday decor, and more.

Attendees can meet the artists who created each item sand even get purchases personalized. Items available range from affordable $5 stocking stuffers to upscale, fine jewelry worth thousands of dollars. The Grand Prize, which will be awarded at the end of the show tour, is a beautiful Randy Polk designed ring and bracelet with Mother of Pearl, diamonds and orange sapphires, valued at over $5,000,

Throughout the weekend, the Harvest Festival offers fabulous live entertainment, including performances from Cash Tribute featuring James Garner. Playing the hits of the famed "Man in Black", Cash Tribute treats audience members to a glimpse into the life and music of Johnny Cash.

New this year to the strolling entertainment is the group Le Jazz Hot. This popular Bay Area gypsy Jazz group will use their traditional Jazz style with classic Holiday favorites, serenading attendees the moment they enter the show.

Gingerbread on the Go will co-host the KidZone and will feature take-and-make gingerbread cookie projects. Nature of Art for Kids, an eco-friendly company offering non-toxic art supplies for children, will also be participating in the KidZone offering crafts using "green" and upcycled materials. Plus, kids of all ages can enjoy live entertainment from Scott Land, an expert marionette performer who is known for his work on the film Team America: World Police.

The official charity of the show is Humane Society Silicon Valley, a non-profit organization committed to animal welfare in every facet. Humane Society Silicon Valley (HSSV) will receive half of the proceeds from shopping bag sales and all of the proceeds from the bag and parcel check.

Loaves and Fishes, a San Jose based non-profit organization which serves free, nutritious meals to the working poor, families, homeless and seniors, will be the food donation partner for the show. Anyone who brings a monetary or non-perishable food donation to the show will receive $2 off their admission.

The Harvest Festivals began 41 years ago in San Francisco as a destination for artists and craftspeople to sell their handmade products. Today, the event has grown to encompass nine shows in the state of California and Nevada, continuing its tradition of only featuring arts and crafts made in the United States. Each exhibitor is subject to a rigid jury process to be selected as an artisan, ensuring a rich diversity and high quality of all products sold. The Harvest Festivals are owned and managed by a Western Exhibitors.

Monday, November 25, 2013

The City is looking for a developer to come in and build a mixed-use high-rise where the Parkside Hall is currently situated. The location is stellar, close to many of the amenities Downtown. Ideally this would be either an office or residential high-rise sitting on top of retail. Given that the office vacancy Downtown is still quite high (around 20%) and residential is on fire, my guess is that this project will end up being our 6th or 7th apartment tower to move forward in this latest development boom... assuming of course they find a developer willing to take it on. Another potential option is a residential/hotel hybrid (like the St. Regis or Four Seasons in San Francisco).

The only downside I see here is The Tech losing Parkside Hall, which is used for special exhibits such as Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination. Perhaps they could utilize our newly expanded convention center instead?

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Today the Peralta Adobe will host an event to commemorate San Jose's birthday, which is actually on November 29th. Just head on over to the San Pedro Square Market area between 12pm and 4pm to participate!

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Happy Birthday San Jose!

Sunday, November 24th, Celebrate San Jose’s 236th Birthday at the Peralta Adobe Historic Site! Meet members of Founding Families, and take tours of the Peralta Adobe and Fallon House.San Jose or El Pueblo de San Jose de Guadelupe, the first Pueblo of California, was founded November 29, 1777. Come have a slice of birthday cake and help celebrate!Learn about life in early San Jose through hands-on activities and story telling. Enjoy live music, dancing and children’s hands-on activities! Food is available throughout the San Pedro Market.Location: Peralta Adobe-Fallon House Historic Site
General Admission is free
Activity Tickets are $1 each or 6 tickets for $5

Tours are on a first-come, first-serve basis. History San Jose Member are free. $8 per adult, $5 for seniors and students with a valid ID. Children five and under are free. Please purchase tickets in front of the Peralta Adobe.

Shatterproof is a new national organization dedicated to fighting childhood addition to drugs and alcohol. They are kicking off their first event in San Jose with a bang. Those that raise enough money for this organization will get the incredibly rare chance to rappel off of the nearly 300 foot-tall San Jose Marriott in Downtown San Jose on December 5th. Rappelling experience is not necessary and you can find out more about this "Rise Above Addiction" event by clicking this link.

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Date:December 5, 2013

Location: San Jose Marriott, San Jose, CA

How to Participate

To join us for this once-in-a-lifetime event, you must be over 18 years of age, weigh less than 300 pounds and commit to raise $1,000 from your family, friends and co-workers. Once you’ve hit your fundraising goal, you'll be eligible to rappel from the tallest building in San Jose, the San Jose Marriott, on December 5. Before your big moment, you'll have a training session with the expert rope specialists from Over the Edge.

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Jeff Arko sent in a couple new pics yesterday of our up and coming Downtown projects. The Centerra crane is already being assembled as you can see in the top picture. Below that is a notice for KT Properties' dual tower project across the street from the San Pedro Square Market. He also mentioned that One South Market's concrete columns are getting up to the second floor.

It has been quite a while since we have had a crane in the air Downtown, and in a year we may have 9 or 10 of them (One South, Centerra, KT Properties (x2), New Courthouse, The Pierce, Post Tower, Hampton Inn, Symphony Apartments)!

It is not everyday that you hear about an organization proposing to turn a former landfill site into an all-year-round snow park... in San Jose. This would be the first such synthetic snow park in California and even though I am not a skier or snowboarder, it sounds awesome! Depending on how well the fundraising goes, the slope cold be anywhere between 200ft long and 100ft wide and 800ft long and 220ft wide. You have to check out the 60 second video below.

The project would cost between $1 and $18 million to build and include retail and restaurants on-site. The snow park would be constructed near 101 and Capital in the Evergreen area of San Jose.

Friday, November 22, 2013

The Conde Nast Traveler Hotel Gold List highlights the top hotels in the World. Only 29 hotels were selected in California (these are more rare than Michelin Stars at Restaurants), and Hotel Valencia was the sole Silicon Valley hotel on the list. To put that in perspective, of ALL the hotels in San Francisco only the St. Regis was included on the list.

Other Bay Area hotels that made it were the Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay, Lavender and Vintage Inn in Yountville, Hotel Healdsburg in Sonoma and several in Napa (Auberge du Soleil, Bardessono, Calistoga Ranch, Solage Calistoga).

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Check out the latest progress on the Earthquakes stadium! The cement is starting to be poured and the steel is going up on the locker room and clubhouse building. Hat tip to Joseph Meduri for sending this in.

Finally we are getting some local flavor into Valley Fair! It sounds like SJMADE is about to open a popup shop in the mall that will feature local vendors and undoubtedly some San Jose-themed apparel. If you are a potential vendor, more info is below. For everyone else, the popup will be located across from White House Black Market and Zara (see map).

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Dear Potential SJMADE Holiday Popup Vendor,

It is with great excitement that we announce this fantastic popup opportunity with Westfield Valley Fair! Due to the nature of pop-ups and temporary spaces, we know this information may be coming to you later than expected, but we hope that you are able to join us in this very promising holiday retail venture!During this 2013 holiday season from November 15th through December 31st, San Jose Made (SJMADE) is operating a Holiday Popup location at a prime retail shop location at Westfield Valley Fair on Stevens Creek Road in Santa Clara, CA.

In order to maintain an operating storefront during normal mall hours, our programming at this holiday popup location is two-fold. The space will house a permanent "Best of San Jose MADE" retail store during all normal mall operating hours, while on weekends (Friday to Sunday) we have designated Weekend Vendor Spaces available for YOU to rent and be part of this exciting venture!

Our retail affiliates, Showroom San Jose, who currently have a small local retail shop at San Pedro Square Market in downtown San Jose will operate the permanent "Best of San Jose Made" pop-up at this location. They are purchasing items at wholesale cost from SJMADE vendors and retailing solely SJMADE vendor products. If your best-selling product should be at this "Best of" shop, let us know! We will send you an application form.

For those of you who would like to talk to us in person, we are holding an open house at the SJMADE Holiday Pop-Up location at Westfield Valley Fair on Monday, November 11th from 7:00p to 9:00p. Come-by to take a look at the space and drop-off your application form!

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

I have not done a Wednesday Wishlist in a while, but couldn't resist when I saw this article on Gizmodo. A small town in the UK is completely replacing it's bus system with 100 autonomous pods that go from the train station throughout the downtown area.

Forget Lightrail, forget BART, forget BRT, forget more congested freeways... this is the real future. The pods below are very much a first-generation product, but the vision is solid. I would love to see San Jose push to implement a more cutting edge version of this type of system that could perhaps connect SJC with existing mass transit systems and Downtown San Jose, and then eventually branch out to residential districts and corporate campuses across Silicon Valley. There is a company in Mountain View that is developing a magnetic PRT (Personal Rapid Transit) system that can go well above 80mph and can be supported by narrow monorail-like structures elevated above streets and walkways similar to the photo below.

What do you guys think? Does it make more sense to make a stronger push for a new innovative transit system or continue to extend the current systems we have today?

One of the clear automotive technology trends at CES this year is cars that drive themselves. From Audi to Lexus to Ford, the world's largest… Read…

It's happening, folks. The self-driving car phenomenon is finally jumping from the test track onto public roads. And the revolution isn't just happening in the United States—it's happening in the UK, too.

The small town of Milton-Keynes, just north of London, will soon deploy 100 driverless pods to replace its noisy, pollution-blasting bus system. These so-called Ultra Pods can carry four people plus cargo at a neck-breaking speed of 12 miles-per-hour on a set track. The battery-powered vehicles are already safely in use on a closed track at London's Heathrow airport, where there hasn't been a single safety incident in over two years of use.

Bridge Bank is adding 18,500 SQFT at its corporate headquarters at 55 Almaden.

Smashburger is now serving up classic burgers at the San Jose Marketcenter [Josh: BJ's is now open as well]

Thrive Therapy and Social Center is open at 25 Post and offers a full array of autism therapies for kids and young adults.

Groundwerx spent October pruning overgrown limbs from trees Downtown [Josh: picking up some slack from city services that were cut due to budget cuts].

On Dec. 15 thee TiVo Santa Run takes place, which is exactly what it sounds like... a run featuring people wearing Santa Costumes. Proceeds benefit Downtown Ice and Christmas in the Park.

The SJDA maintained a balanced budget during its last fiscal year ($2.9 million budget)

Aedis--an architectural firm--has moved into 9,000 SQFT of modern office space in SoFA and envisions a mini-San Pedro Square Market for their ground floor. The working title of the project is going to be the SoFA Market and it's scheduled to launch Spring 2014 [Josh: wohoo!!!]

Monday, November 18, 2013

Apigee is technology start-up that has become a major player in enterprise API (Application Programming Interface) management. APIs let companies open up their software so that other applications can communicate with them. Whenever you see a function on a website that lets you post to Facebook, Google+, Linkedin, or Twitter... that is all done using APIs.

Now to cut to the chase, Apigee is a hot Palo Alto company with IPO potential and they have decided to move to Downtown San Jose. They are upgrading from 16,000 SQFT at 260 Sheridan to 41,000 SQFT of office space that could house over 250 employees at 10 Almaden. This is the largest office lease for Downtown so far in 2013.

What is surprising is that 20% of Apigee workers live in San Francisco and take Caltrain to work. They found that most San Franciscans actually preferred the Downtown San Jose location since they can take a baby bullet train which does not service the California Avenue Caltrain stop. Hopefully, if Downtown continues on the current trajectory, we might be able to convert some of these San Franciscans to San Joseans.

Some other perks of moving to Downtown San Jose from Palo Alto is that the cost of the office space is far less expensive and there is plenty of room to grow. You also have access easy access to the SAP Center, the remodeled Convention Center, an international airport, Lightrail, and BART in the future. If we can get two or three more of these hot companies Downtown, I think it would have a strong positive impact on the brand of Downtown and put the area on the radar for a lot more hot growing companies in Silicon Valley. Already, the restaurant and residential markets are exploding and retail is improving at a steady pace, so it is just a matter of time before the office market catches up.

Join us at KALEID Gallery for this upcoming TWO BUCK Tuesday, November 19th, 7pm-10pm!
Come enjoy an inspired evening of performances, live painting, $2 art, drop-in sketching table & quirky people get together! It’s open to all ages and free!
Here are some of of the participating artists who will be joining us this time:

Carolann Espino will help participants create a "Dream Collage". What if you could have the house, car, man, women, pet, garden, job you want?. Well you can through creating your own unique "Dream Collage" Visualizing your dreams is a powerful tool to create your goals and dreams. "Dream Collage" art feels you with a sense of excitement as you affirm your dreams through the power of art. Supplies will be provided except for canvas boards. (Those wishing to be part of the art can pick them up very reasonably at Michaels, 8x11 is a good size). She will provide stock paper if there are those who cannot afford canvas board.

Al Preciado will sculpt large and amazing things out of common household foil. Come and get some sculpting tips from a pro!